EEX 6759 Transition Planning & Interdisciplinary Teaming for Students with Disabilities Lecture Notes
June 18th, 2011


Vocational Rehab Agency-
  • federally funded.
  • Under Rehab Act.
  • Anyone with a documented disability.
  • Mental health assessment
  • Asperger’s & PDD NOS
  • NOT Autism
Agency for Person’s with Disabilities: APD
Autism Spectrum

VOCATIONAL OPTIONS:
I. Day Programs or Activity Center
  • In the U.S. today, approximately 5000 adult activity/day programs serve people with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities (Braddock, Rizzolo, & Hemp, 2004)
  • Studies have repeatedly shown that people who are placed into these centers do not leave them and never graduate to workshops or into competitive employment
II. Traditional Day Program or Adult Activity Center (Services)
  • Adults with severe disabilities
  • They learn skills in a facility setting
  • Theories of independent skills are taught (w/some hands-on practice)
  • Aimed at fixing someones disability
III. Traditional Day Programs or Adult Activity Center (Reality)
  • Generalizations across settings can be difficult for individuals w/disabilities to make
  • Funding drawbacks/issues
  • Most agree that these programs should be shut down or phased out & funding transferred to providing support to people in more productive & dignified community pursuits

IV. Sheltered Workshops
  • Segregated vocational & non-vocational programs
  • Employment component
  • Activity Centers/Classes (Daily Living)
  • Day Treatment Center (Working w/counselors)
  • Generally differ in mission, services provided, & funding
Positives:
  • Gives individuals w/more severe disabilities a place to go
  • Socialization purposes
  • May teach greater overall Life Responsibilities
Negatives:
  • Fails to provide meaningful employment outcomes
  • Low earnings – remain system dependent
  • Isolates individuals from public sector
  • Allows little to no advancement
  • Little to no future positive impact on individual (Wehman, 2006)

Sheltered Workshops (SW)- they pay to go to facility and PAY to work

V. Supported Employment (SE)- earned 30%- 40% more than folks in SW.
A rehabilitation method that has created over 150,000 jobs for people with cognitive, physical, and psychiatric disabilities. The critical elements of SE are performance of meaningful work for pay, working in integrated community-based settings, and the use of ongoing supports tailored to the needs of the worker and the business
- (Federal Register, 1987)

Tenants of Supported Employment:
  • Assessment of individual’s preferences
  • Assessment of individual’s skills
  • Community Business Needs
  • Establishing employers willingness to work w/ the SE program/individual
  • Placement of SE individual
  • Learning on-the-job skills (w/job coach)
  • Creating Natural Supports
  • Maintaining follow-up services
  • Fade supports to Independence of the individual
VI. Competitive Employment
  • Community-based employment (traditional settings)
  • Assistance from others to help find and maintain employment (usually not as intensive as Supported Employment)
  • Teachers, V.R. Counselors, Employment Specialists may assist

JOB FINDING:
  • Also known as Job Development
  • The process of assisting others in locating/finding jobs
  • Individuals helping to find jobs are usually called, Employment Specialists (w/variations)
  • Individuals who help others learn on-the-job skills/tasks &/or how to navigate the work environment are generally referred to as a Job Coach

JOB FINDING PROCESS: 8 STEPS

1.Target Candidates w/Range of Skills and Support Needs
  • Target more than one potential candidate
  • Target higher and lower functioning individuals
  • Target individuals who can perform one job’s specific duties
  • Target individuals who can share one job’s overall duties

2.Develop an Ideal Job Match Vision to Guide Job Development
  • Use “Person-Centered Career Planning” (Callahan & Garner, 1997)
(P.A.T.H., MAPS)
  • Include all who work closely w/individual (parents, siblings, friends, staff, etc.)
  • Use Career-life Planning to help construct a lifestyle envisioned by individual
Person-Centered Career Planning
  • Suitable Job Tasks
  • Desirable Social Climate
  • Degree of Sameness/Variety in Duties
  • Extent of judgement Skills
  • Optimal Work Pace
  • Desired Degree & Type of Co-worker involvement
  • Preferred Job Location
  • Optimal Training/Support Strategies - (Everson, Reid, Marrone, Huff, & Helm, 1997)

3.Target Businesses that Might Match Hypotheses
  • Get to know the local business market
  • Join local business-related groups/associations
  • Establish local business-related relationships
  • Visit with local business owners/companies
  • Get to know individual business operations & needs

4.Use Referrals to Access More Receptive Employers
  • Satisfied Past Employers
  • Parents of Past Job Seekers
  • Past Job Seekers Themselves
  • Agency Contacts (Local Org. contacts)
  • Friends, Family, Co-workers
  • Social-related Contacts

5.Meet w/Employer to Learn Their Need & Gauge Their Interest
  • View the Potential Employer as a customer
  • Listen to Their Business/Company Needs
  • Help Employers Trouble Shoot
  • Make Positive Suggests as to How You Can Help Their Business
  • (Once Repoire is Established) Ask Employer if you can Observe Business Operations

6.Observe & Interview Operations Staff to Identify Duties
  • Meet w/Key Staff in Each Area of Interest
  • Help Staff to Breakdown Job Tasks (Task Analysis) if necessary
  • Document Important Interview Information for Later Reflection &/or Possible Candidate Job Matching Purposes
7.Match Duties to Candidates
  • Begin comparing duties to possible candidates
  • Decide on whether one or more candidates may be a good fit into job duties
  • Decide on whether it may be a straight placement or job carve
  • Make a proposal to the potential employer

8. Develop & Present Hiring Proposal - (Nietupski & Nietupski, 2001)
  • Present a written Proposal – gives businesses time to react, reflect, and decide
  • Present positive info. on individual(s) selected, desired hours & wages, timelines of potential face to face mtg. & start potential
  • If accepted by potential employer, set up a face to face mtg./interview between them and individual candidate

Below Notes from 6.11.11
TRANSITION & EARLY EDUCATION; TRANSITION & SCHOOL-AGED STUDENTS; SCHOOL TO WORK; COLLEGE-BOUND STUDENTS
IDEA- Part C (pro-active stance)
  • Program for Infants and Toddlers – ages birth to 36 months
  • Each State – designated “lead” Agency (Florida - Early Steps/Children’s Medical Services
  • In place to address developmental delays – proactive stance

IDEA- PART B (all ages)
  • 36 months to 22 years – children and youth special (Florida – usually, this begins with a DD label)
  • All educational services (per IDEA) for students 2 – 22 years of age
  • Pre-K in Florida – 3 to 5 or 6 years of age (dismiss by the age of 6)
  • Issues related to C to B transition include: diagnostics, treatment determinations, eligible determinations

*main difference is WHERE svcs are provided
*IEP’s only cover up to high school, beyond that, students are covered by ADA.
*Diagnosis= medical
*School-based eligibility= school-based on criterion

Writing a sound IEP Objective:
Be Careful with the ff:
‘bad attitude’
‘lazy’
‘disrespectful’
‘unorganized’
‘aggressive’
‘sexual’
LITMUS TEST- I HAVE TO SEE IT WITH MY EYES

Notes from GUEST SPEAKER: Michelle Patterson
1. Sunshine State Standards
2. Pacing Guides
3. Access Points- SSS modified (to work on alternative FCAT) to access gen. ed. Broken down in 3 levels)
4. Building a Schedule
5. Incorporating IEP Goals
6. Assessments

Role of Paraprofessionals:
Who are your assistants? Ask Questions!

Below Notes are from 6/4/11:

Transition Assessments: Should Address Three Areas
1. Employment
2. Education/Training
3. Independent

Goals of Transition Assessment:
1. Make informed choices
2. Take charge of the transition process
3. Understand Skills Specifically Needed for post school environments

Types of Transition Assessments: use both

Formal- to learn a wide variety of skill levels in various areas (ie. vocational)
Examples:
1. Learning styles inventories
2. Academic achievement tests (Woodcock Johnson)
3. Adaptive behavior scales (Vineland)
4. Aptitude tests (Differential Aptitude)

Informal-
  • observe student in various academic and work experiences
  • likes/dislikes
  • setting up experiences to try something new
Examples:
1. Observation
2. Interviews/Questionnaire
3. Environ. Analysis
4. Curriculum based assessments




Examples of Assessment:

TTAP Assessment (lower)

TPI Assessment (higher functioning)